Hon Kingsley Fanwo is the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications. In this interview, he speaks about the readiness of the state to tackle flooding, strategies that the government has put in place to mitigate against devastation, among other issues. JOY ANIGBOGU brings the excerpts: 

 Once the deluge comes the fear rises, what are you doing differently? 

What is different this year is the fact that we have activated a very proactive and mitigation plan to a very large extent to solve the human factor aspect of the flooding. There are aspects that we cannot stop, but there are some aspects that with very good planning we can mitigate and prevent the devastation that we experienced for a number of years in the state. What is happening is that the current governor of the state has been able to energise the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) under the leadership of the Deputy Governor of the state to be able to put together a very robust management strategy to be able to address the problems this year. A lot of things have been put in place which we will talk about in the course of the discussion. 

What is the plan for them, is that once the flood comes they will just vacate and once it recedes a little bit they will return to those settlements immediately after, so what is the plan? 

We are having a very robust holistic plan and the government under the administration of Alhaji Usman Ododo is so committed to the project to ensure that we mitigate against some of these devastating natural disasters. Last week the Governor signed into law the Kogi State Town Planning law. It was initiated to ensure that we resolve that hydra headed problem once and for all and with that law it means we would take control in a very bold manner where people should build houses. When we talk about some of the causes of flood and all of that, one of the major causes is the issue of the way we plan our towns especially towns that are prone to flooding and Kogi State happens to be the hotbed of what I will call the wet point of flooding in Nigeria because of the confluence of Rivers Niger and Benue. What we are trying to do is very difficult. It is not easy to remove people from their ancestral homes. It takes a lot of orientation, a lot of sensitisation, making them realise how this will affect them if they don’t leave those places. With the law in place, already signed by the governor it means that we have been able to take care of that. Like I said our plans are in timelines. We have a very robust plan, and we have time lines for the implementation, we are cooperating and working with federal agencies, especially NEMA, to ensure that we mitigate these issues. 

This year the rain has started, so what will happen for this year apart from the long term? 

Activities to ensure the implementation of these plans are already ongoing. Like yesterday there was a stakeholders’ meeting between the state emergency management agency, officials of the ministry of environment, ministry of works and all the relevant stakeholders along the corridor of controlling flooding in the state and also the local government areas that are likely going to be affected. Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and SEMA are already talking about 13 Local Government Areas (LGAs) out of 21 that is about 62 percent of the state and that means we will be taking it with all the seriousness it demands. All the stakeholders’ meetings are ongoing and we are also reviewing the 2024 flood outlook that has been given to us by the NEMA. We are also talking about community engagements and awareness campaigns that have already started. It is the responsibility of my ministry to ensure that we put these jingles, multilinguals, so that those who don’t understand English language will understand their local dialects. The messages are multilinguals so that we can talk to them about the things they need to do. There are some little things that when you do them, you will deal with the impacts that is just like what the experts talked about. There are things that you could do to mitigate but there are things that in some situations you cannot stop flooding, it will come, your level of preparedness is what is going to determine the impact, whether it is going to be devastating, mild, it is your level of preparedness that will tell. 

Are you likely to move these people up land, what they do is to keep some of their baggage very light, so that when the flood comes they will just take the canoes across. So, long term, what will be the eventuality in terms of that place? 

Government is about responsibility, that is their ancestral home with the new Kogi State urban development law. We will be able to ensure that such structures that have no approvals are removed. Definitely they will be removed but the state government is having a plan to be able to give small settlements to those people. You cannot just remove them from that place and not have a plan of where you are taking them to. That is exactly one of the things that we are doing now. 

It’s frightening to hear that about 13 local government areas will be affected by flooding in Kogi State this year and we know that will put a lot of financial burden on the state. Last year when the misfortune befell the state, there was a report that the Federal Government promised to assist the state to relocate 10, 000 persons in Mosun Community in Bassa Local Government Area, that was to be done through Alhaji Abubakar Yelwa, the Managing Director (MD) of the Hydro-Electricity Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), though I don’t know how far that was achieved. This year, following the predictions of NEMA, in your assessment has the FG done enough in collaborating with the state to mitigate against the devastation in terms of preventive measures, rather than wait for the devastation to come before it sends help? 

The State got a report from NEMA and NIMET to the effect that 13 of our 21 Local Government Areas are likely to be affected by flooding this year. We have since set up an action plan to mitigate the effect. We are working on preventative measures as well as tackling the flooding when it happens, especially protecting our people in flood prone areas. The Federal Government has done a lot to assist the state in terms of timely reports and working closely with the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency to strengthen our capacity to respond to emergencies arising from natural disasters like flooding. In Kogi State, we have started implementing our plans. Many Stakeholders meetings have been held under the Chairmanship of the State Deputy Governor, His Excellency Comrade Joel Salifu Oyibo. The affected Local Government Areas are also preparing to confront the situation. We are working on community led actions to be properly prepared for the task ahead. We are looking at improving flood control infrastructure in the flood prone areas too and to deploy technology for early warning and control. We have enacted the right legislation to protect our Urban Planning and Development and we will continue to work with relevant agencies as a state with a lot of experience when it comes to issues of flooding. We are working on building more Integrally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps to encourage affected citizens to move on time. The Kogi State Ministry of Environment and Ecological Management has been doing incredibly well, ensuring that human factors aggravating flooding are removed. The Commissioner, Engr. Olusegun Joseph has been working assiduously, leading the efforts at cleaning up our environment, removing debris from drainages and ensuring refuse is not dumped in rivers. We can reduce the effects when we play our own role. We need the support of the Federal Government to provide shelter on higher grounds in areas prone to serious flooding. It is difficult to move people from their ancestral homes. But we are determined to create dry season and wet season homes for them. We are confident that the Federal Government is committed to ensuring success in reducing the devastation caused by flooding every year. As a Government, we are doing our best at our level. And we won’t relent. Our Governor is chairing the national efforts at getting an action plan to resolve flooding issues in Nigeria. Kogi must be a shining example for others. 

What advice can you give to Kogi people as the government moves towards executing the various plans that it has put in place to avert disaster or lessen the devastating effect of flooding this year? 

The people in flood prone areas must work with our plans. The Governor is doing everything possible to protect them, their properties and farmlands. The newly signed Urban Development Law must be implemented. The government will adopt a human face approach but will do what is necessary. You can’t build houses on river courses and be free from flooding. Also, they should listen to us when there is a need to leave their flooded homes for safety. We are poised to sensitize the people of the state through our communication platforms and also via community led efforts. Drainages will be cleared and disposal of waste must not be done indiscriminately. We need the cooperation of the people in order to reduce the effects of flooding